I Need Help, Ichigo
by Conterra-san
Summary: Ichigo tries to supress his emotions, but they just continue to slip out. Avoidance doesn't work, so what can he do? Especially when there seems to be trouble brewing in the Seireitei. . . Ichiruki and other pairings to be revealed. . .
1. History Homework and Hormones

A/N: Hello all! This was written while I was "studying" physics, hahaha. . .

I'm not as late coming to the Bleach society as I thought. . .and I'm actually updated on most of the plot! Be proud! However, this may be slightly AU because I didn't factor in a lot of the Hueco Mundo arc.

Oh, and I wanted to geek out because I thought the parting line Ichigo gives Rukia was the CUTEST THING EVER, even if my friend and I were like, "No! Go back and kiss her, dumbass!" But, nothing is every easy.

"Thanks to you, the rain finally seems to be letting up." -squeal-

Ok, sorry, on to the chapter!

**Chapter 1**

**History Homework and Hormones**

"III-CHI-GO!"

The owner of that name flinched as the girl's shrill voice reached his ears. Sighing, he twisted slightly in his slouched position and yelled irritably up the stairs, "What?!"

The voice same back, considerably more subdued. "I was wondering if-if you would help me with our history. I—uh. . ."

"Don't know a thing about the recent past," he muttered as she trailed off. He really didn't want to go back to his room, but—"Can't you figure it out yourself?" he shouted.

"No."

He snorted, annoyed. "I'll be right up." He slowly closed his book and stretched his arms lazily, arching his back away from the couch he was sprawled on. He really didn't want to go up to his room. The reason was quite simple, really.

Rukia.

Before his life had turned upside down, he had been relatively oblivious to girls, but after meeting Rukia, that had slowly began to change. It finally kicked in full force while he was in the Soul Society, trying to save the midget shinigami who had taught him how to truly live up to his name.

He had thought the emotions were fleeting, and had pushed them away, focusing on his purpose, and treating Rukia like a doll, like usual. He had been almost afraid, but knew that she trusted him wholeheartedly. So that momentary lapse had vanished, and with it (or so he had thought) went the ridiculous feelings that had suddenly (or so he adamantly told himself) sprung up.

But now she was back, just as perky, feisty, and clueless as ever.

It was becoming harder and harder for him to suppress his feelings, and he had mastered that years and years ago.

Sure, he had heard from Keigo and Mizuro a thousand times about the million ways to win a girl's heart. He had listened infrequently, but had to admit that at least half of their schemes probably worked most of the time. But Rukia was definitely not a "most of the time" type of girl.

She was technically dead, first of all, but that wasn't an issue. She was culturally illiterate, but she was learning, and it was just funny, usually. And—Ichigo would die before admitting this out loud; he still sometimes cringed when he thought it—hopelessly adorable.

Most of all, she was Rukia, which made her infinitely special, or at least to him, anyway.

He knew what he _wanted_ to do, but he also knew he couldn't just act on impulse.

Rukia was his friend. While in the past he might have thought she looked at him strangely sometimes, maybe with just a hint of _something_ else in her eyes, he had come to a conclusion.

Even if Rukia _did_ like him (which he highly doubted) he couldn't risk it. He valued their friendship too much, and she lived in his _house_, by the gods. Where would she go? How could they take care of Soul Society business? How could he protect her if she got scared of him, or left?

And so he had attempted to act the same around her, but every time he saw her, his heart seemed to clench. When she was sad or angry, he wanted to comfort her, desperately wishing that he could hold her, smooth her hair, stroke her until she was better. When she was happy, he wanted to attack her pale skin to see her shiver, hear her laugh.

So he began avoiding her. His feelings were too strong, and he was only a junior in high school. She was _way_ out of his league. He didn't want to loose her.

He steadied himself, resolving to not fall prey to his idiotic hormones and emotions, and rolled off the couch. It took his battling sentiments a few minutes to be totally prepared, but he finally steeled himself and knocked on his door. "Rukia?" he called, letting her name roll off his tongue harshly, as if he hadn't changed. "Rukia, can I come in?"

He heard a clunk and smiled, throwing the door open. Sure enough, her history book was lying in front of him on the floor, right where she'd chucked it. He bent to get it, and said jokingly, "_That's_ gonna get it done, Rukia."

He looked up, and his breath caught in his throat, all careful emotional preparation dashed. She was spread out on his bed—_his_ bed—head propped on the pillow, arms behind her head. She was still wearing her school uniform, a _very_ short skirt, and her blouse, which was slightly unbuttoned to reveal what he thought was a purple tank top. It _was_ pretty hot in his room, and he was pretty sure he hadn't seen her in a tank top in a really long time. Orihime must have given it to her. His heart sped up when he thought of her in a tank top, shoulders bare—nope. History homework.

"I **HATE** history," Rukia muttered. "Come to think of it, I hate homework in general." Then she sent her piercing glare at Ichigo. "The only good thing about it is that you'll actually talk to me when I need help."

Ichigo's eyes widened. Had he been that obvious? Was she mad at him? "Uh. . ." he muttered, taking a step back to close the door.

Rukia sat up, making room for him, still searching with her gaze. "Is something wrong, Ichigo?"

He settled beside her, close enough to make her flush slightly before scowling at him again. The blush puzzled him momentarily before the concept of it nestled into his heart, a tiny seed of hope. He pushed the thought away, trying not to stare at her, realizing she was expecting him to answer her.

"I'm sorry, Rukia," he said quite sincerely. He leaned against the wall, his long arm resting on the space above her head to support him. "I've been stressed lately. The teachers in my higher level classes have really been piling on the work." What else was he supposed to say? How was he going to avoid her now? He should already be leaving. . . but he couldn't do that to her.

He jumped when she snatched for her book, one hand brushing against his arm as she leaned. He grinned and moved it out of her reach. "Maybe you should ask nicely first," he smirked.

She growled. "Give it here, Ichigo!" she snarled. His grin widened as she leaned across him, trying to grab her book. He was abruptly acutely aware of her hand squeezing his thigh for balance, making his breath come faster. He lazily shifted his leg so that her arm buckled, making her cry out, and fall sideways onto his lap. He groaned inwardly, feeling tremors run through his body. He suddenly felt very hot.

She squirmed, and he had to clench his fists. It wasn't fair that she could do this to him. She turned over so that she was glaring up at him. "Ichi-go," she whined. "I want my book." Then she grinned. One of her arms slammed across his shoulders and she dove to wrestle the book away. He laughed, even though it hurt to have his back jacked into the wall. He loved the way she looked when she was fighting with him.

She laughed triumphantly and sat up, most of her weight on his legs. He huffed at her, seemingly out of playful annoyance, but really out of frustration. This was why he had to stay away from her. She had a ridiculous habit of falling into situations that were so provocative, he couldn't stand it. His hand moved to steady her, and he looked at it blankly as it rested gently on her back. It had moved with a mind of its own.

She squirmed again, and braced herself on his shoulders. Ichigo instantaneously couldn't breathe. "Ichigo," she said slowly. One hand moved to smooth his hair, an impossible task. "You should get you hair cut." Her hand suddenly brushed the nape of his neck, and he stiffened. He _had_ to stop this before his body exploded. "Just a little—whoa!" she yelled as he forcibly lifted her at the waist and dumped her unceremoniously back on the bed next to him. He settled back into his previous position. "Don't do that," he told her, almost angrily.

She looked at him, startled. But his eyes were closed, and it seemed as though he was having problems breathing. "Uh, ok. Sorry." She hurriedly flipped the book to the proper page and hastily began bouncing questions off the temperamental redhead.

Ichigo absentmindedly answered her questions as he tried to get his heart rate back to normal, but his body was taking a long time to settle. Every time she started speaking again, the backs of his eyelids presented her violet eyes shining up at him and he could fell her twisting against him. He started when his hand touched something soft, and he opened his eyes to look at this it. Rukia was bent over her paper. When she straightened, her hair brushed against his fingertips, tempting him. He quickly moved his hand higher.

She asked him another question, one which he answered vaguely. He felt as though his eyes were frozen in place. When she bent over again, he let his hand drop down. _Just to see,_ he thought hazily. His fingers gently caressed her neck and her head snapped up. He tucked her wayward tag back into her shirt and was gratified when he felt her shiver as he slowly moved his hand away.

"Ichigo—" she began softly.

"Just sticking your tag in," he cut her off peacefully, eyes instantly closed again. She was silent for a minute, and he opened his eyes to glance at her. She was struggling in vain with one of the buttons on her blouse. Ichigo figured it had to be some else's, probably Karin's, because Rukia had never had problems with buttons before.

He placidly pushed her hands aside and leaned over to help before he knew what he was doing. "It's awfully hot in here, isn't it?" he asked, glancing up at her.

She was wide-eyed as she looked back at him. "Y-yes, it is," she mumbled.

"You should probably take this off. You're sweating," he told her matter-of-factly.

She tried to slip the blouse off, but gave up quickly. "It's stuck," she sighed.

Ichigo gently turned her around so he could untangle her necklace chain from the back of her blouse. He moved her hair out of the way, lingering on the smoothness of it. Rukia sat stock still as he eased the blouse off one arm. He let his hand rest on her almost-bare shoulder, and then squeezed her. "You must be overworked too," he told her softly. "You're tense." He pulled the garment off the rest of the way, but couldn't bear to remove his hands from her shoulders. Before he knew it, he was leaning closer to the spirited shinigami. . .

Rukia was petrified. Why was Ichigo acting so weird? And why was her skin shivering? Why did she suddenly feel like resting on his powerful chest? Powerful chest?! What was _wrong_ with her?

She bit her lip when he finished peeling her shirt off. He hadn't moved his hands. She suddenly felt something ghosting across the right side of her head. She heard a small noise, and gasped, feeling pressure above and behind her ear. Had he just—? She was frozen for another moment before she realized he wasn't touching her anymore.

She spun to see Ichigo breathing heavily, head bent, fists clenched. He jumped up before she could say something and said, "Oi, Rukia, I'm so sorry, but I forgot I need to go to Chad's! If you need anymore help, look at my homework, or ask Karin when she gets home!" And with that, he sprinted out of the room, leaving Rukia in a state of utter confusion.

- - - - - - -

Conterra here!

Favorite Bleach characters: (not including Ichigo and Rukia) Renji and Chad

Favorite pairings: Ishihime, Ichiruki, Hitsu x Matsu, anyone with Byakuya (he needs a new girl), Renruki (even though I really want Ichiruki, I think this is riddiculously cute), Kisuke x Yoruichi (if he's not gay, which is highly doubtful)

I think you may have to wait about a week for the next chapter, I have a week from hell and have to edit Purple Steam, a Avatar fic on my combined account, CONTERRA-SANandBLACKVELVETBAND (the url has no dash in it if you are interested).

Please tell me how I did! Sorry if a bit OC, no idea how Ichigo would actually react. . .

More fluff next chapter, and other characters!

Sayonara,

Conterra-hime


	2. Cherry Confusion and Chances

A/N: Apology, I hope, is accepted for a bit later than wanted update.

Physics exam was riddiculous, everything else is riddiculous, grades are trying to slip, this is my comfort, PLEASE REVIEW.

Wow, went over the top there for a minute, but am really disraught right now.

Anyway, this chapter actually opens up to the plot, seeing as I HAD NONE PLANNED, contrary to popular belief.

You reveiws made my laugh a lot, but then I panicked because the first chapter came out of nowhere, and I didn't know what to do.

I now have a really kickass idea, but you will have to bear with me. There will be some unconventional plot twists and character butchering, but it is all explainable and will be understandable at the end of this story (all character butchering will be reversed, I think).

I AM SO EXCITED TO WRITE THIS!!!!!!!

Ok, so now that I have a plot, here is the next chapter. The majority was written while I was studying spanish and during a stupid math class.

Flashback in middle is in italics.

**Chapter 2**

**Cherry Confusion and Chances**

Ichigo ran until his legs were on fire and his lungs were burning from the humid twilight air. He'd been running for over two hours, he'd guess, and night was well on its way. He flopped down on the grass by the river to stare up at the darkening sky.

It got worse every time he was near her. He'd have to be more careful. But. . .it was just too easy to let go around Rukia. She didn't resist, or didn't understand, first of all, and her mere presence was like a massage into aching muscles. Sometimes painful, but mainly relaxing and long-lasting. Still, what he'd done that night was unacceptable. He'd _kissed_ her, even if it wasn't a real kiss. She was bound to know now, no matter **how** oblivious she actually was.

He got up and stretched, his breathing back to normal and legs only a bit sore. He hadn't run full tilt for that long in a good deal of time. Was he getting weak? _No,_ he decided as he began pelting towards Chad's house, _no one is supposed to be able to run like that for that long. You're an idiot, Kurosaki. _

He got to Chad's house only a few minutes later, when it was, by his judgment, about eight. He banged on the door, bent over, breathing heavily. Chad appeared a moment later to stare impassively down at him. "Ichigo?" he rumbled.

He grinned up at the giant, thinking back to how much he dwarfed Rukia, before shaking those ideas off. " H-hey, Chad. Can I stay over?"

Chad cracked a smile. "When you want to talk, I'm here."

Ichigo straightened, a perplexed look on his face. "I'll talk." He stomach growled and he grinned sheepishly. "Just after I eat something."

- - -

Rukia mumbled something to Isshin while trying to shove an unidentifiable foreign object into her mouth and like it. After a lot more silence on Rukia's part, some violent disagreements on Karin and Isshin's part, and some carefully worried words on Yuzu's part, Rukia excused herself to Ichigo's room.

It seemed stifling in his domain. Every way she turned she was reminded of Ichigo, and the echoes of the earlier incident lingered in the air. She collapsed on his bed, curling herself up into a confused ball.

Why was he haunting her like this? Sure, he had become one of the most important people in her life. Sure, she had to live with him in constant close proximity. Sure, he'd saved her life twice. Not once, but twice. He'd been brave enough—and selfless enough—to take it upon himself to save his family and a girl he didn't, at the time, even know. And she'd repaid him by getting him hurt terribly in the end.

But she was over that part now. He had never blamed her, and he would rather get hurt so that others didn't have to. She still didn't like it, but she knew that if she ever tried to argue with him again, he wouldn't budge, and, with the way he'd been acting lately, something odd might happen.

He'd always been protective, so much so that it had scared her sometimes. But now he was not only protective, but evasive as well. He didn't talk to her much anymore, and she barely ever saw him. What was wrong? Had she done something?

It was, she admitted ruefully, hurting her. Why had he changed so suddenly, even if it was only a change in time available for her? Maybe he'd moved on, and didn't want her friendship anymore. Maybe he thought she was too childish, or ugly, or. . .

Rukia blinked. Since when had Ichigo cared about this stuff? And since when had _she_ cared? Why was this upsetting her so much?

There was only one plausible answer, really, but she didn't even want to _think_ about it as a possibility. Ichigo was young, handsome, athletic, smart, and, under the mask, caring; everything a girl could want in a guy (discounting the annoying mood swings). He could like any woman and probably have her. Maybe. . .? No. There was no possible way that he could like her as more than a very close friend.

Was it viable that she. . .

Rukia got up and started to change. When she had gone through her normal routine of brushing teeth, washing up, etcetera, she padded back into his room. She paused before going to his bed and crawling into it. She knew he wouldn't be back tonight, and she felt safer just being this little bit closer to him.

It was funny that she was so worried over Ichigo, who could take care of himself, when the confusing reports from the Soul Society were much more troublesome.

She turned over and breathed in deeply. She was tired. She could think about the somewhat alarming messages on her phone later. She noticed that the sheets and pillow smelled faintly of Ichigo, spicy and clean; _alive_. She snuggled deeper into this unexpected haven and drifted off enveloped in all that which was Ichigo.

- - -

A very puzzled Rukia arrived slightly early to school, barely listening to an ecstatic Orihime (was she talking about tofu and sardine rolls?). She had double checked the messages on her phone, which had only served to heighten her sense of unease. One of them was from Renji, who, in a rare occurrence, actually sounded worried. Even more distressing was the fact that he was worried about Nii-sama. Renji claimed that he had been acting strangely, and wouldn't tell him what was wrong; which, knowing her brother, was not surprising. However, prior to Renji's stationing in the living world and through the course of his regular visits to his captain, the two of them had slowly but surely become friends. If Byakuya didn't want to tell his vice captain, then it _was_ something for Renji to be worried about. He had also mentioned some rather odd occurrences in the Seireitei, most of which, he said, were trifling, but had somehow concerned Commander Yamamoto all the same. To her frustration, he had not given her any details.

Then there was the fact that she could have sworn she felt something brush her cheek as she was waking up that morning. When she turned over, there had been a bunch of cherry blossoms on Ichigo's dresser, as though _he_ had left them for her. And his clothes were gone, so he _must_ have been in the room. . .

"Isn't that right, Kuchiki-san?"

"What?" Rukia snapped back to the present to find Orihime and Tatsuki staring at her expectantly. "Oh! Yes, yes, of course. . ."

Orihime cheered. "Yay! I told you she already said she was game, Tatsuki-chan! We can all go tonight!"

_Go where?!_ Rukia thought frantically. _I can't remember—well, as long as Ichigo comes, I'll be okay—wait, what did I just—_

Which brought her back to her dilemma. What to do about Ichigo? And why hadn't he got her up this morning? She could have been late!

When she got to class, she saw that Ishida, Chad, and Ichigo were talking quietly on one side of the room. Ishida saw Orihime and began to move to the door, making Rukia smile.

"Don't even," she heard him tell a miffed Chizuru as he nearly stiff-armed her before reaching Orihime. "Morning, Inoue-san."

She smiled brightly. "Hi, Ishida-kun!"

"These are for you," he murmured, a faint tinge coloring his face as he pulled a bouquet of cherry blossoms from seemingly nowhere. "I thought you might like them."

"Oh, Ishida-kun! They're beautiful!" she squealed, diving on a somewhat surprised but gratified Ishida. He patted her back a bit awkwardly and then gently held her at arms length. "I—" he began, but he was quickly cut off by Tatsuki's shriek.

"Hey! Stop touching my head!" she yelled, hands grasping wildly for purchase on whoever was smoothing her hair. Her grip landed on something much softer, however. She gasped, "What?" and carefully lifted a wreath of cherry blossoms off of her head. She whirled around. "Chad?!"

He shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips before he gave her his infamous thumbs up sign.

Rukia was somewhat confused as her two friends (she was a bit surprised about Tatsuki) gushed about the flowers. She was about to ask Ichigo, who had an oddly strained expression on his face, when Keigo and Mizuiro burst into the room. "Kuchiki-chan!" Keigo fairly yelled. His hands were filled with cherry blossoms. What. . .?

"Will you—" he was cut off by Ichigo slamming his foot into his shoulder. "Ow ow ow! You didn't need to tell me _that_ way, Strawberry!" he moaned, writhing dramatically on the ground.

"Nice," Mizuiro said grinning, slapping Ichigo on the arm. When he threw a look at Rukia, she got a funny feeling that he wasn't just talking about the kick.

Before any of this apparent madness could go any further, the bell rang and they all rushed for their seats. Rukia settled slowly into hers, still trying to puzzle out the flower business. She opened her bag slightly to look at the blooms she had absentmindedly placed there. She removed a few, threw a glance at Ichigo (who was staring, looking as though he couldn't breathe again) and carefully placed them in her hair. She smirked at Ichigo's suddenly shocked expression and leaned comfortably back into her chair. But. . .

What did the damn flowers mean?!

- - -

Rukia was fuming.

She had been dragged—well not quite _dragged_—to a festival she knew nothing about and was wearing cherry blossoms in her hair.

She had mulled over the flowers until she got a chance to ask Orihime. Her exuberant friend had given her a startled look before exclaiming, "For the festival of course! You said you were coming!"

Then she had remembered whatever it had been she had agreed to that morning and groaned. Oh well, it would probably be fun, and she could at least drag Hitsugaya and Matsumoto along. Unfortunately, the two of them had work to catch up on, and Hitsugaya wasn't about to let Matsumoto skiv off, like usual. But Matsumoto had promised to pop by later, hopefully to expose a protesting Hitsugaya to something called _fun_.

The festival wasn't exactly what had set Rukia off. It was quite simple really.

Ichigo.

Her friends had gone into an in-depth and highly confusing explanation of the cherry blossoms before realizing she had gotten some herself.

"_So. . .what are they for?" Rukia asked. _

"_They aren't _for_ anything, weren't you listening?" Tatsuki exclaimed. "They're a _symbol_." _

"_I don't get it. Why are flowers a symbol? Is __this festival thing only in Karakura?" _

"_It's a spring festival! And of course flowers are symbols, silly!" Orihime fairly sang, skipping slightly. _

_Rukia looked hopelessly at Tatsuki, who gave her a crooked smile. "Karakura tradition, but it's spread around the region," she said softly. "The flowers are from a legend, something that happened a long time ago between two sisters. You don't know it, do you?" Rukia shook her head. Tatsuki sighed. "I'm not usually a stickler for these tradition things. . .but this one I can't bring myself to break. If a girl doesn't know the story, a guy is supposed to tell her. Most girls find out that way." She glanced ruefully at her friend. "A guy who brings her the flowers." _

"_But I—" she began to retort before clamping down on her loose tongue. _

"_Damn," Tatsuki breathed, turning her around. "Orihime! Rukia-san has flowers in her hair!" _

_Orihime spun, mouth agape. "Who. . ." Then her eyes widened and her mouth formed into a grin. "Ichigo!" _

"_Errr. . ." Rukia muttered sheepishly. _

"_Oh! That's so adorable!" Orihime yelled. _

_Tatsuki was shaking her head, eyes slowly filling with wonder. "Ichigo. . .wow. . ."_

_Rukia nearly snapped. "_What?!_ What do they mean?!" She took a deep friends looked at her a bit strangely. She ended softly, "And what do they have to do with Ichigo?" _

_The two of them both started speaking at once, and Rukia was thankful that they had decided to take a walk before eating lunch with the other girls. If this was going to be a "girl talk," she didn't want anyone else hearing what she might say. _

_The two girls did indeed proceed to drill her on Ichigo and her; what he'd been saying, what they'd been doing, how he'd been acting. Rukia ended up relating all her fears and worries to her very attentive listeners. She briefly explained what had transpired the night before, but at the end of her tale she blushed and looked away. _

"_And?" Tatsuki prodded. _

"_That was so mysteriously passionate!" Orihime cried. "It's all bottled up, wanting a release!" _

"_Yeah. . .anyway, what then?" Tatsuki asked expectantly. _

"_Well. . .I might have imagined it, because he left so quickly afterward. . .and I was shook up,  
so. . ." _

"_He gave you a—" _

"_Hush, Orihime," Tatsuki hissed. _

_Rukia barely heard them. "I. . .I think he kissed me. Right there," she pointed. "But I don't know _why_—" _

"_It's about time," Orihime huffed. _

"_Thank God he's finally done _something_ involving a girl," Tatsuki muttered. _

"_Uh. . ." Rukia moaned. "I'm so confused. What am I supposed to do?" _

"_Well, the flowers don't necessarily mean _that_," Tatsuki grinned. "I mean Chad just gave them to me because he owes me for helping Ichigo save his ass a few weeks ago. It was just really sweet of him to say 'thank you' this way." _

"_Uh. . .ok . . .but, what am I going to do about Ichigo? I can't get through to him anymore." _

"_Stick to him like a burr!" _

"_Alternate," Tatsuki objected. "Be with him constantly and then disappear for some time. Guaranteed to drive him crazy." _

"_Do you really think—" _

"_Do you really like him, Rukia-chan?" Orihime asked earnestly. _

"_U-uh, well—" _

"_You'll know," Tatsuki grinned. "It's alright, I know this must be weird for you. . .considering and all. . ." _

"_We'll see at the festival tonight!" Orihime said gleefully. "Come on, let's go eat, I see Matsumoto-san! MATSUMOTO!" _

And so, Rukia had been left to her troublesome thoughts the rest of the school day. And, when it had ended, she was at a loss to what to do. Orihime and Matsumoto kidnapped her, however, and, after a lot of gushing from Matsumoto (Rukia had ruefully explained to her, too, but Hitsugaya eventually dragged Matsumoto away) and some primping from Orihime, about three hours later the lot of them were at the festival.

And she was trying her best not to sulk.

Ichigo had been ignoring her after the initial, "I am going to gape at you for an age without saying anything, and, when confronted, I will stutter something that sounds remotely like 'You look pretty,' before turning gruff and pretending you don't exist for a bit" incident, but he hadn't _stopped_ ignoring her.

The festival was beautiful. Stalls and decorations littered the main square, encompassing the masses of laughing people enjoying themselves. There were so many cherry blossoms around, though, that some of its beauty was lost on her. It reminded her too much of Nii-sama's bankai; she half expected the petals to start shimmering and move in waves. This, in turn, reminded her of Renji's message, but the lights and music were compensating enough for her gloomy thoughts and the magic of the night was not completely missed.

She sighed, glancing away from the game Chad and Tatsuki were attempting to beat each other at and her eyes wandered over the crowd.

Where was Ichigo?

Ishida and Orihime weren't far, and she was amused to see that they were dancing. Ishida, who she swore thought he was an Arthurian knight reincarnated, was spinning and lifting Orihime gracefully, looking quite the picture in what passed for his "shining armor." She couldn't help but grin.

Where was Ichigo?

She caught sight of Mizuiro and his too-old-for-him-girlfriend, while Keigo sobbed behind them. Rukia rolled her eyes. Keigo was by far the most overdramatic person she knew, which was kind of sad, really, seeing as he was, by definition, a _boy_.

Where was Ichigo?

She finally sensed a familiar presence and she relaxed slightly; he had to be right behind her. But before she could turn around to reprimand him, she felt a pair of strong arms lift her around the waist and she was suddenly being carried away from the main festivities to a quieter portion of the festival.

Her skin prickled where his hands had pushed up her shirt slightly to come in contact with her abdomen, and she had the sudden urge to strangle him. It wasn't fair that he could make her feel so. . ._alive_, with just a touch. This feeling should only come when mutual. She nearly forgot to pound on him. "Ichigo! You imbecile! I—"

He gently set her down next to a food stall, smirking. "Rukia." She nearly blushed; she hated it when he looked at her like that. It made her feel like her insides were sand; like she could give at any moment.

She glared at him. "You oversized, oaf! Never do that again!"

He smiled lazily at her, as if he knew something she didn't. "You've got flowers in your hair," he said bluntly.

"You should know," she snapped. "You gave them to me."

"Did I?"

She almost believed him for a second, a sliver of doubt coming into her consciousness, but she knew him too well by now not to see when he was kidding. "Oh, well than, I guess I'll have to go talk to Renji, who must have come all the way from _Soul Society_, snuck into _your room_ in the middle of the night, and put flowers on _your_ dresser for me."

She was very interested to see his eyes darken slightly at the mention of Renji. His fists clenched, and Rukia looked at them, perplexed. Was he. . ._jealous_? No, he couldn't be, he probably didn't even _like_ her. So why was he acting all possessive and vague? Maybe he wanted her to do something for him? Like _what_, though?

He was gawking at her again, and this time she couldn't help but blush. Why did he _always_ do that? It was so unnerving. "Are you hungry?" he asked her, indicating the food stall he had dragged her to.

She gave him a weak grin, remembering she hadn't eaten since lunch. "Was that an actual question, Kurosaki?"

He laughed, and pulled her over to the vendor. After a little protesting by Rukia and a lot of growling by Ichigo, Rukia got "the weird stuff with the eggs," as Ichigo called it, that she _knew_ she'd like. They leaned against a small shop, watching the dancers from the shadows, just out of the main light.

"Ichigo?" Rukia asked quietly.

"Huh?"

"Why'd you give me the cherry blossoms?"

She was oddly pleased to see him choke on whatever it was he was eating before staring at her a bit incredulously. "Why would you ask that?"

"I just want to know."

"Uh, well. . ." he scratched casually at the back of his neck, not looking at her. "I thought it was appropriate, I guess. You. . .you've done so much for me. It seems like you've always been there, although I know that's definitely not true. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. . ."

Rukia was somewhat stunned. Had he really just said that? It was a rare occasion when Ichigo opened up and was actually serious about something important. Ichigo didn't make any sense. He was mean to her, he ignored her, he teased her, he fought with her, he helped her with homework, he let her sit in his lap, he attempted to kiss her, he got her flowers. . .yeah, that made a lot of sense. . .

Her head shot up when Ichigo's hand suddenly made soft contact with her cheek, sending shock waves through her body. "Ich—"

"You had something on you," he said softly, caressing her jaw line tenderly. He reluctantly withdrew his hand.

She grabbed his arm before he could pull away. "What is with you?" she hissed. "Why are you being so. . .so _volatile_?"

"Am I supposed to answer that?" he growled, moving his hand so it was resting lightly on her shoulder.

"I would rather you did."

He was silent as his gaze raked her body, making her shiver. He suddenly drew her into a crushing hug, surprising her. Hesitantly, she drew her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Maybe she should tell him about her worries; maybe he could go find out what was wrong in Seireitei, what was wrong with Nii-sama. But no: she didn't want to endanger him and even the _thought_ of the slightest hint of unnecessary risk for Ichigo made her cringe. She didn't want them to be separated just yet. She felt so warm and secure in his arms, almost as if he was a house protecting her from the rain.

His voice was thick with emotion when he finally spoke, and she had to press herself closer to him so that he didn't hurt her back with his strong arms. "I just don't want to loose you, Rukia. I'd be damned if I did. . ."

"Don't say that," she whispered, clinging to him. "You'd be fine. You were fine before I ruined your life."

"You didn't ruin my life!" he said harshly, stroking her hair, sifting it delicately through his fingers. Rukia was having problems thinking straight: _Ichigo's holding me? Why is he doing this? Why? Why? Gods, he's _holding_ me. . . _"I think you saved it. In more ways than one. We've gone over this before."

"Yes, and I always insist that you could have lived peacefully and happily without having to deal with the Soul Society until you died."

"You know that's not true. Something would have come up. But things turned out like this, and I want to make sure that you're safe."

"I can take care of myself," she murmured, her voice muffled by his clothing. She _really_ didn't want to let go yet.

"I'm not so sure that you can," he growled, squeezing her. His voice took on an odd, gruffly pained note, "Don't leave without saying goodbye, Rukia."

"I'm not going anyplace soon." _I think. . ._

He gently released her from his embrace so that he could look at her. "What's wrong?"

"You haven't told _me_, so I don't know why I should answer that," she snapped, suddenly irritated again. She tried to pull away, but his amber eyes caught her, drawing her inexorably closer. Her breath caught in her throat when he gently pushed her hair out of her face, his hand coming to rest on her neck.

"I told you," he said softly. "I'm stressed. I don't want you worried about me. And I can tell something's bothering you."

She leaned into his touch, enjoying his warmth. "I've gotten odd reports from Seireitei, that's all," she murmured, gaze still trapped in his glowing pools. "I'm sure everything's fine."

"If it's not, tell me?" It was more of a demand then a question, but she took it as one anyway.

"Of course. I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, remember?"

He grinned, another peculiar look on his face. "You'd best not, Rukia, because I'll come after you again."

"Uh. . ." she blushed. _Say something, Kuchiki. _But what was there to say to that?

He drew her into his arms again, and the whirlwind inside of her threatened to make her explode. He was so much larger than she that she couldn't have pulled away even if she tried. She hoped he couldn't feel her heart pounding out of her chest, or her mind screaming out of want. Was he just trying to be a good friend? Or was this really something more substantial?

She thought her body froze when she felt his lips brush against her head. "I will always protect you, Rukia," he said fiercely. "Don't get me wrong."

There was only one way to find out. She latched her hands onto his shirt and looked up at him. She wasn't entirely prepared for the intense, almost hungry look on his face, but her momentary shock was pushed aside by what had been bothering her all day. He needed to tell her what she knew he was holding back, whether it was for good or ill.

"Ichigo, why did you _really_ give me the cherry blossoms?"

She wanted to scream in frustration when he stiffened beside her. She could already feel the cracks forming in her heart.

A/N: Review, or Renji will tattoo your eyebrows in the middle of the night! (ha ha) Please, give the author something to live on besides worries about her grades!

And please don't expect an update sooner than two weeks, I made this twice as long as the last chapter on purpose. I love all of you!

There _is_ a reason for the cherry blossoms, I do have that bit of the story worked out, lol. And I know what is going on in the SS too, so I actually have a plot! Go me!

Did you really read all the way down here? "If I were the rain, could I connect someone's heart like it unites the eternally separate earth and sky?" Hope you caught my rain motiff reference, hee hee.

Done now, off to kill myself with biology. Until we meet again. . .


	3. Soul Society and Surprises

A/N: FIRST OFF I am so so so so so so so so so sooooooo sorry to all those of you who have been waiting an age and a half! Life pulls things on you sometimes, you know? I got stuck with this—majorly stuck, and I warned you lot I didn't have a plot—but I think I'm better now. And I've had no time between school and traveling and grawrghgh—gomen ne!

Numero dos: I KNOW that Renji's letter/text/message/email/whatever-you-want-to-call-it is out of character. There is _no way_ I could get all that info across without that. No, Rukia has never met Hinay. Yes, Hinay is crazy.

Three: Yes, I am adding an OC. I'm terribly sorry to all those of you who may not like this character, but the only reason people don't usually like OCs is because they take the place another character could have filled! This one doesn't do that, I promise! And she is my hero! I've written over fifty pages about her over the past four ish months. . .damn, I need to start updating faster.

Catre: I think I have a plot line for this now :-D

P.S. It's been so long I understand Arrancar and Vaizard now. . .even though I'm still not far enough into the arc. . .the damn Bounts held me up:-P

Onward, brave soul. . .

**Chapter 3**

**Soul Society and Surprises**

Rukia's cell phone beeped incessantly in a dark chamber, quite forgotten by its owner and those associated with her for the time being.

- - -

Rukia

I'll back in a couple of days (never tell me you were worried). The majority of my work was done already, so I didn't have much to catch up on. About your straight-ass brother—maybe I was wrong. It's possible that Shihouin Hinay has just been annoying the hell out of him.

I never told you about her, did I?

It's taken me a while to get used to her. She's been the Third Seat for a long time, but she was off on some sort of higher-up pussy-footed noble-ish mission for over six months when I was promoted. I talked to her after she got back of course, which was only a few days after all the freaking ruckus in the Soul Society, but then I didn't believe that she was actually taichō's hallowed Third Seat. I was _sure_ that Shihouin would be boringly quiet, demure, and probably bloody strict when around the captain.

Gods defend, I couldn't have been more wrong.

She's damn _insane_. She is so happy and lighthearted, it's disgusting. She's always jumping around, never taking anything seriously in the captain's presence, and, worst of all, making fun of Byakuya. She's completely fearless, dammit! I mean, she's childish and uses name-calling, and _teases_ him—him! Of all people!

What's really whacked is that when she's not around your brother, she lets herself be focused, sometimes. And she works _hard_. She gets everything done, and she can be _scary_ and bitchy when she wants to be. She has a thousand friends, which is why I think it's strange you never met her, who she's not nearly as silly around.

She's also a damn beauty, a fact that I think hasn't been lost on taichō (He would kill me if he heard this. Hell, I think I probably _would_ die).

After I was sufficiently shocked to hell by Hinay, I found out that she's the one who began doing a lot of my work when I was gone. I guess we've become pretty good friends through my visits, actually, and she never skips a beat with administrative details, which I'm pretty much freaking horrible with. She's perfectly capable of being a lieutenant, maybe even a captain, but she doesn't want to, or at least not yet, I guess. She graduated from the academy only a few years ago. I've seen her train, but never fight. She's fast, and I have the distinctive impression that she is training for bankai. Not only that, I'm almost positive that she constantly suppresses her spirit energy, and it's already pretty damn high.

I thought you might want to know, because if there's something _wrong_ with him, it might be her. She's completely over the top.

Or it could be something quite different, because I think he must have gotten used to her by now, but I'd rather tell you about that in person.

Sayonara

Renji

- - -

If Rukia had seen this, she would have called Renji back immediately, demanding some answers. As it was, she missed the beginning of something that would prove. . .potentially problematic.

In truth, Renji had missed it too.

- - -

Shihouin Hinay was walking through the Seireitei. _Storming_ was actually a more adequate term, but everyone knew that Hinay never stormed. Well, she _did_ storm, when sufficiently angry, and she _did_ blow people out of her way with the winds attached to her zanpakutō when annoyed, and she _could_ be completely cold and unforgiving when fighting someone, but on lunch break? Definitely not. Not Shihouin Hinay.

In truth, Hinay was just enjoying pretending to storm, while looking for her captain. Well, that meant she _had_ a reason to storm, but it was more fun to storm than to actually be angry enough to do so. Her captain was getting out of hand, but she wasn't quite angry yet. Worried that the idiot hadn't been in his office that morning, but not quite angry.

Very worried, actually. It wasn't like Kuchiki Byakuya to disappear without explanation, abruptly leave in the middle of an important report or meeting, not concentrate on his work, or appear more expressive than usual (hardly noticeable, but _there_ nonetheless), all of which he had been doing during the past few weeks.

Was it her?

She slowed slightly, her "angry" stalk faltering for a moment, and the unfounded insecurity about her situation washed over her once again. She tried valiantly to push her confusion, frustration, and sorrow aside—and was distracted by the sight of Matsumoto, vice captain of tenth squad. "Rangiku-san!" she called out, purposefully diverting her inner conflict's attention, waving energetically, and immediately dropping the glowering façade. "HI!"

"Hinay-chan!" Matsumoto yelled, just as loud, bounding over. "I missed you at the SWA meeting yesterday afternoon! I barely see you now that I'm stationed in the living world!"

"Yes, well," Hinay tittered. "I couldn't leave poor taichō-chan all by himself! He's been out of sorts for days!"

Matsumoto grinned. "Yes, but you still got that picture for us, my dear."

"Anything to annoy my captain, Ran-chan! You know that!" she laughed gaily. "Actually, it's more like anything that will get the God of Apathy to show something resembling _emotion_."

"Did it work?" her friend asked gleefully.

"Of course it did! _I_ did it, so it _had_ to work!"

Matsumoto looked keenly at her friend when Hinay averted her eyes briefly, conveying a sense of unease. Many thought Shihouin Hinay was one of the most delightful shinigami to be around. She was apt to change moods at the drop of a hat, but usually she was perpetually happy. She could get somewhat serious when important matters were being discussed, but she was rarely entirely somber. Even in battle she was quirky and could make stupid jokes.

But Matsumoto knew better than to be fooled.

Hinay had been somewhat stressed of late, even if it wasn't noticeable to a lot of people. It was just that her friend could not figure out if it was about the brief return of Abarai Renji, or the recent behavior of one Byakuya Kuchiki. Matsumoto didn't know what was wrong, but she knew that if Hinay was actually worried than she would have to try to pry something out of her. "Hinay-chan," she asked carefully. "Has Byakuya been snapping at you lately?"

"Snapping at me? Are you kidding? He doesn't snap; he delivers cold _reprimands_. There is a _key_ difference, Ran-chan."

"I _know_ that, Hinay!" Matsumoto huffed. "I just wanted to know if. . .he's been over the top lately."

"He's _always_—"

"If he's been worse than usual," she hastily amended.

"Of course not!" Hinay exclaimed, feigning shock. But her eyes told a different story. They told Matsumoto that the two of them needed to get someplace private—fast.

"Let's go over there," Matsumoto whispered, gesturing vaguely towards her headquarters.

"What?" hissed Hinay, looking a bit startled.

"We need to _talk_." Matsumoto glanced around and realized that some of the nearby shinigami were looking at them worriedly. First Hinay storming—or pretending to storm—and now the two most exuberant women in the whole of Seireitei _whispering_?

"HINAY-CHAN!" Matsumoto suddenly yelled, grabbing Hinay's arm and beginning to skip towards tenth squad. "I have the most AMAZING flowers for your taichō back at my office! He'll _love_ them!" she giggled, knowing that everyone was well aware of the fact Byakuya was _not_ fond of flowers anywhere near his work space.

Hinay seemed ecstatic. "I've been looking for a new kind for an absolute _age_, Rangiku! Let's go!" the now-bouncing shinigami grabbed her friend's hand and began flash stepping away.

They turned up in Matsumoto's office moments later. "You don't really need new flowers, do you, Hinay-chan?" she asked lightly. "Because I think the snap dragons you leave him are perfect, and they are _so_ like his favorite, those balloon flowers. . ."

"They _are_ perfect," the Third Seat murmured, her back to the busty lieutenant, "because they symbolize my soul. Every time he sees them, he can't help but remember me."

Matsumoto frowned. Was Hinay's voice wistful? "Hinay—" she began softly.

Hinay turned and looked her straight in the eye. "I can only hope that he thinks of me with fondness and not bitterness. If I cannot be his friend," her eyes slid away, but not before Matsumoto saw the dull, aching pain and uncertainty in their crystal depths, "then I do not think that I can remain in his division much longer."

Matsumoto suddenly recalled a brief memory from a few months ago when Renji had just met Hinay, and smiled. "Renji's your friend," she told her firmly.

Hinay smiled. It was true that the hot-tempered young man had grown on her. Matsumoto was right; if she transferred she would miss Renji something fierce, even if she saw him, right now, at most, once a week. Of course, these past few weeks had been different because her superior had come during the living shinigami boy's "spring break" and had stayed slightly longer than the normal "vacation" time. They had gotten closer over these weeks. Renji was her friend, but that didn't change the fact that Byakuya. . . whom she had to work with _every day_. . .

"I think that Byakuya's your friend, too," Rangiku told her, interrupting her brooding thoughts. The two of them sat down on the couch in Toshirō's practically abandoned office, Matsumoto sprawling casually and Hinay curling up comfortably.

"Why would you think that?" Shihouin muttered, looking away.

It was a good thing that Hitsugaya preferred to report from the living world, because it would have been incredibly awkward if anyone had walked in on them. Neither one of them would have been able to explain why the two most raucously silly shinigami in the whole of the Seireitei were being _serious_.

"Do you remember—"

_Byakuya's main office was sparse but open, a versatile space that he sometimes used to meditate or hold private dinners. _

_Whenever Renji came to speak with Byakuya, his eyes inevitably sought out the somewhat out of place swivel chair placed near his captain's desk. It was an elegant sort of chair that was dark in color and perpetually empty. Renji always wondered what its purpose was, but he never quite dared to ask._

_Of course he had heard the wild stories about Shihouin Hinay's antics in the office, but he had never put two and two together. _

_He was reporting to Byakuya shortly after Hinay's return, and was surprised to see that his gaze kept straying to the conspicuous swivel chair. He had gradually noticed over the past few months that his captain never _ever_ looked at the forlorn object. He deliberately avoided looking at the seat. Always. _

_So what was going on? _

She_ suddenly popped up in the—apparently _her_— swivel chair backwards, hanging onto the back as she leaned away from it, yelling "TAICHOOOOOOOOOŌ!" _

_Renji just started at her in awe. Byakuya dearly wished he could roll his eyes._

"_Taichō-chan! Guess what I did!" she started spinning around, laughing girlishly as she did. "I went through all the gardens today! And even though you decided to ignore your poor little Third Seat," she slowed down to pout there, "I picked you flowers anyway! Eeeee!" she squealed, clapping in delight. Then she spun on the dumbfounded Renji. "Abarai-kun! I picked flowers for you too! And you know what?!" she laughed happily. "They match your hair! You are so much cooler than Kuchiki-chan, if only because your hair doesn't make you look girly," she slid a sly glance at Byakuya, whose eyes had gone wide. She smirked. "Anyway, the flowers are on your desks! Bye!" And she was gone. _

"_Taichō, she—" _

"_Is actually quite amusing, on occasion," Byakuya said grandly, one hand subconsciously smoothing his hair. _

"_But you—"_

"_Shouldn't be able to stand her?"_

"_I wasn't going to say that, Kuchiki-san." _

"_Yes you were. In truth, she took some getting used to." _

"_I suppose so," Renji sighed, giving up. Then a thought came. "Taichō, how long was she gone?" _

"_Too long," Byakuya murmured almost imperceptibly. _

_Renji's brow furrowed. "What?" _

"_A long time," Byakuya told him tonelessly. "More than six months. She was in the living world posing as an exchange student." _

_Renji clenched his jaw. "You missed her." _

_Byakuya merely looked at him expressionlessly. "I missed her help in the office. She has the women's touch that neither of us could ever hope to duplicate. Things run much smoother with her around." _

_Renji rolled his eyes. _That's not what I meant_, he thought. _

_And Byakuya's slightly thoughtful expression and tense posture clearly answered: _I know.

There was a brief silence in the office. "How did you ever hear all that?" Hinay gasped.

"It was one of your best stunts. I've never seen you so hyper since (thank all the gods), and at the time I knew I had to see you in action. And I happened to hear and see Byakuya's reaction as a delightful bonus," Matsumoto beamed.

"Well," Hinay sighed, still sounding a bit melancholy, but with a new brightness to her face, "maybe things aren't as bad as I thought. Maybe I _can_ read his emotions after all."

"I'm sure you can," Matsumoto reassured her. "If anyone knows how to deal with your suddenly wayward captain, than it's definitely you."

Hinay immediately looked exasperated. "I don't know what's gotten into him lately! Even Renji's worried! One minute he's perfectly fine, the next he's growling and saying _extremely_ odd things and walking as fast as he possibly can away. It's almost as if he's acting like this in reaction to _something_—but there isn't anything there!"

"We'd best go find him," Matsumoto said, jumping up. "I can help you for a bit, but I have to do paperwork for taichō, which means I have to be back within in an hour."

Hinay raised an eyebrow. "Paperwork?"

Matsumoto grinned slightly evilly. "Between the two of us we'll get it all done. And then he'll have no excuse when I need to drag him to the random human festival in Karakura."

- - -

_Damn it, Orihime, what did you _tell_ her?! I'm not ready for this, the flowers were a stupid idea, and I _knew_ the girls would talk to her. . .I just couldn't stand the thought of someone else being with Rukia tonight. . .if it hadn't been Keigo, it would have been Tetsuo Momohara (what kind of name for a karate jock is that anyway?!) or that other bastard, Takahashi what's-his-name. Those two morons are just the most obvious admirers of Rukia. . .Gods, if Takahashi had gotten his hands on Rukia. . .I woulda kicked his ass. _

Ichigo's arms tightened around Rukia, his body stiffening as he thought of another guy holding her. Even the flash of memory that showed him Renji's arms around her brought momentary anger before he reminded himself that there were some men in this world and the next that he had to trust. He guessed that Renji, Byakuya, and Ishida were among them. Chad he never thought twice about, but by God, when had he got so paranoid?

He had gotten paranoid when he had lost Rukia, and later realized that the least suspected could turn on you. The man named Aizen was testimony to that.

He looked down at Rukia, who had buried her face against his shirt just after asking her question. She shifted slightly, rubbing her hips against his, and he briefly imagined her lips against his skin. He couldn't breathe again, and raised a shaking hand to stroke her hair.

_Because I want you,_ he answered her silently_. I've seen what eternity is, so I'm not afraid of death in this world. What I'm afraid of is death without you waiting for me. If I can't spend that eternity with you. . .Because I want to be able to hold you, and cherish you. I want you to never be afraid again, because I'll always be there; ready to take the blow meant for you. I want your happiness above all, but I wish that you could be happy with me, as weak as I am. _

He looked around, searching for a way to distract her. This was not the time or place, and he knew he wasn't ready to tell her any of this. He also knew that Rukia hadn't come to terms with herself yet, and he didn't want to frighten her.

His eyes lit up with suppressed laughter when his gaze landed on Orihime and Ishida. Could Rukia dance? He really couldn't, but what the hell. . .

"Rukia?" he asked softly. She shook her head, and he realized that she might be crying. _Maybe she _has_ sorted her feelings out. . ._ "You ok?"

"M'fine," she mumbled, and he could have sworn he saw her hand come up to dash away tears.

"Uh. . .how about we go dance?" he asked, a smirk curling at his lips.

"But. . ."

"I'll tell you later, alright?"

"I guess. . ."

"Come on! You can't dance?" he teased.

"I can dance!" she groused. "I am an excellent dancer."

"Good," he grinned. "Because I'm not. Maybe you can teach me."

That made her flare. "I'm not teaching you a thing!" she yelled, hitting him with one small fist.

He grinned down at her. "Why not? You've taught me so much already. Why is this any different?"

"I'm not a good teacher," Rukia said softly, looking away. _I taught you to kill and maim. I taught you only the basics, and nothing more. I taught you how to do half a job, and none of the honor in it. I taught you how to maximize your anger. You discovered how to control yourself, protect others, and be sympathetic by yourself. All the important things you learned from other teachers, ones far wiser than me. Your soul being one of them. _

Ichigo thought he recognized that look and took advantage of her inattentiveness to catch her hand and tug her towards the dancers.

"Ichigo! I really don't want—"

"Of course you do!" Ichigo growled. "You said you can dance. All girls want to dance."

"Excuse me! _Don't_—whooooaaa!" she yelled as Ichigo suddenly spun her and caught hold of her waist. Before she could get out the rest of her retort about gender stereotypes, her body was suddenly moving in the familiar steps of a waltz. _Damn you, Ichigo,_ she thought half-angrily.

But her heart was thumping again, and their hands seemed to mold together as both of them moved in time with the other's heartbeat.

Well, that's what Rukia wished anyway. She was rusty, and Ichigo only sort of knew what he was doing.

Their occasional stumbling was rather amusing though, and it made Rukia laugh. She even caught a fleeting, genuine smile on Ichigo's face for a minute.

She also wished that he would smile more often.

- - -

Matsumoto Rangiku put her pen down and sighed, running a hand through her lustrous strawberry blonde hair. It was far too late to be doing anything other than drinking sake, or sleeping, or—her eyes fell on a sprig of cherry blossoms tied together upon her desk and she recalled what she had said to her friend Hinay earlier that day—going to a festival.

Just as she had suspected, between the two of them—with her actually working—the paperwork Hitsugaya had at the moment was completely done.

Not even his genius had predicted this.

She snuck up behind the chair where he was rubbing his eyes, pretending to be tired. She dove on him from behind, yelling, "Taichooooooooooō! There's a festival we should be attending! And all my work is dooooone!!!!!"

"Matsumoto," he growled, raking a hand through his hair and pushing her off of him. "I don't want to go to some damn-fool festival, it's probably worse than the ones we hold in the Seireitei."

"But those ones are _fun_! Come on, taichō, please?! We'll have fun! There'll be food and games and dancing and—" she paused to think for a moment, "—and watermelon! There'll be watermelon, I bet, taichō!"

Hitsugaya had perked up at the mention of watermelon, but his scowl returned almost immediately. "Absolutely not, Matsumoto," he snarled.

Needless to say, about ten minutes later Hitsugaya Toshirō, Tenth Captain of the Gotei 13, was seen being dragged towards the town square by his vice captain.

- - -

"_Please tell me—" _

"_I didn't do it, alright?! I didn't do it!"_

Byakuya shook his head against the sudden onslaught of memories, and sighed angrily. He'd been foolish and had let down his guard, and now he was paying the consequences.

This particular memory came to mind because he knew that the echoing protest, "I didn't do it!" rang true for the speaker even through her guilt, just as it did for him in this instance.

But he felt the same guilt that he had been impatient with that day.

Out here, in a Rukongai district, his clothing changed and the _kenseikan_ hid by a hood, he felt almost free; a desire he always smothered but had been alarmingly evident recently. He knew that he must be causing Hinay worry, and probably Renji, who had been surprisingly observant lately when it came to his captain's life. Or maybe he had always been that way.

But he couldn't go back to his squad's headquarters just yet.

He could feel the storm beginning to break across his consciousness and readied himself for yet another fight.

The voice came on the wind, like a segment from a dream that he'd never had, a reminder of a person that he'd never known, a wish that wasn't his.

And yet it was startlingly similar to—it was high-pitched and callous; biting and ironic in its words—

_Surprise. _

- - - - - - -

ADVERTISMENT: PLEASE READ HANDPRINTS AND THE RAIN AND BROKEN PINK CODA. THEY CAN BE FOUND FROM MY PROFILE.

A/N: And the plot thickens! -does crazy little dance of glee- I heart Renji and Byakuya. And I apologize again for that stupid letter thingamajig. Let's call it an email.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, but I do own this story, and hopefully your minds for just a sec so that you will review! If you don't. . .Ichigo will shave his head –gasp–

The more reviews I get, the faster I will update! And I mean it this time! And I also expect around 30 ish reviews!

And yes, this was sorta filler-ish. Sorry!

Oh, damn, I just ran out of ideas for the next chapter. . .XD

Until then,

Conterra-san


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